A police officer has been placed on administrative leave after writing on Facebook that the Ferguson, Missouri cop who shot dead an unarmed black teenager last month ‘did society a favor’.
Jason Lentz, a 17-year veteran of the Elgin Police Department in Illinois, is under investigation after colleagues discovered he had written multiple racially-charged Facebook posts. Details of his posts have now been released to the Courier-News following a Freedom of Information request.
His suspension – the fourth in his career – comes after Ferguson cop Darren Wilson gunned down 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9, sparking clashes between police officers and protesters.
In one online post on his personal Facebook page on August 17, Lentz posted a photo of Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson – who is black – with a black man and making an ‘OK’ hand sign.
‘He is also in the Chicago Tribune hugging protesters. Just awesome… appears to be the enemy within,’ Lentz wrote.
The post about Brown was made on August 15 above a video he shared entitled: ‘Police Released surveillance footage allegedly showing Michael Brown stealing cigars befor[e].’